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Somebody does it better….
….and her name is Sylvie Rowand of nearby Washington, Virginia. For those of us who like eating food as much as producing it, her website is a delight, an inspiration, a must-read! Born in France, Sylvie and her husband now live in Rappahannock county where she has her own business: “Laughing Duck Gardens and Cookery”. My only worry is once you visit there, you may not come back. Besides designing her own website, what does she do? Well she offers: “cookery services, in-home catering, cookery workshops, food gardening workshops, private cooking lessons, and kitchen gardening coaching.” She can also serve as your personal chef for a dinner party and is…
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‘Tis the season….
…to start feeding hay. And at Thistle Hill, rather than put the hay in rings or feeders, we unroll it onto the ground. It’s the way cows are used to eating, of course, but just as important is the extra organic matter that finds its’ way back into the soil. And by taking a new area each time, we spread not only the nutrients but the cows do their part by spreading their manure. Saves on fertilzer costs. This is the view from the rear window of the tractor cab as the bale in the foreground is un-rolled. The lighter colored cows are Senepol; the darker are Devon. Some farmers…
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Doc Wooz makes a house call….
…on a two-month old heifer with a cut on her leg. Normally we’ve been waiting until she’s nursing and then she barely notices the slight sting of the medicine. (It’s in the spray bottle Wooz is holding in her right hand.) But on this day she thought it would be fun to play tag and it took three attempts. The calf would dodge away, but never go so far as to discourage Wooz from trying again. Fortunately, Wooz reports the wound is now completely healed and no further treatment will be necessary. At least that’s what I think she said. She was breathing pretty hard.
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Vegetarians: Blood on their hands, after all?
There’s not much question that humans, their teeth and digestive systems, have adapted over the years to eating meat. Not much question either that eating natural meat is good for you. Not even any question that eating natural fat is good for you, too. The argument vegetarians advance that many have trouble answering is the ethical one; that is, we’re using our power to kill another sentient life. Well now, wait a minute. According to a study in Australia, producing grain for protein results in 25 times the number of animals killed per kilogram of meat. Forget the slaughter caused by a reaper in a field of wheat, that wheat also…
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On the soap box…
A note to all the currently-unoccupied “Occupy Wall Street” folks. Why not target a truly greedy and evil company: Monsanto? If there has been a company more responsible for despoiling our earth and our food supply it is this chemical giant. Particularly galling are all Monsanto’s ads proclaiming its dedication to “sustainable agriculture”. In fact, Monsanto’s only real dedication has been to its bottom line. Now some financial advisers have finally put it on their “sell” list. Monsanto’s biggest claim to fame has been the promotion of Genetically Modified foods. They’ve made all sorts of claims for GM products such as corn and soybeans: higher yields and disease resistance, in particular. …
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The best part….
….of raising Devon is coming into a pasture at sunrise and finding that your herd has a new and excellent addition. Second best is hearing about a wonderful addition to another herd, particularly if it’s from our bull. This is five-day old Tomina’s Ruby Slippers at Tomina Farm in Waynesboro, Tennessee. Dad was Thistle Hill’s Magic (you can see his picture in our bull section) also now enjoying life in Tennessee. Regina Tesnow tells us she loves this little heifer so much “I just can’t stand it!!!!!!!!” (I think I’ve copied the right number of exclamation points. We love to think we’re helping establish quality Devon herds around the country…
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Now about Senepol…
Back in the beginning, when we were deciding on the breed that would do best in our area and provide the best meat, we considered not only Devon, our eventual choice, but Senepol. And here is our newest calf from a Senepol mama, born yesterday. She has a Devon daddy and we’ve found the cross between the two to be just about ideal. They are the steer of choice for many of our customers who are in the meat business. The Amish in Pennsylvania are particularly fond of them and report they get sensational carcass yields from our Thistle Hill crosses. And here’s another Thistle Hill baby once removed. This…
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The interloper….
Despite the disappointing results of the recent sale of Rotokawa bulls, we were pleased to see that one young bull did quite well. However, he was not out of a Rotokawa cow, but one that calls Thistle Hill “home”. Her name is the not-very-melodious “180” and she’s shown here nursing another of her bull calves at Thistle Hill. We smile when we hear other breeds claim their cows can wean close to half their weight. 180 can do that with half an udder. She’s something special, no doubt. Visitors invariably single her out as one of our best cows. A western cattleman, Steve Campbell of Idaho, took one look at…